10 Great 'Gig Economy' Jobs For 2017

The workforce is changing at a dramatic clip. One trend analysts have noted is that workers have sought to take more control over their professional lives by choosing to embrace what’s being called the “agile economy.”

This growing group of professionals work as contractors, freelancers and part-timers; all looking to work when and where they wish for sometimes a handful of different employers throughout the course of a given year. To get a sense of some good opportunities in this “gig” workforce, we look at a recent report from CareerCast.com, a career and job intel resource, highlighting positions that can be done in a freelance, part-time and contractual capacity. See below for a slideshow of 10 Great "Gig Economy" Jobs For 2017.

“In this digital age, the workforce is increasingly mobile and work can be done from anywhere, resulting in a rise in short-term job opportunities,” says Kyle Kensing, online content editor at CareerCast. “Opportunities to work on a contract or freelance basis and make a great career of it are growing across a variety of occupations and sectors.”

CareerCast projected growth outlooks for each of the jobs in its list through 2024 using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for part-time, freelance and full-time positions. The job with the largest growth projection is that of interpreter or translator—that job is expected to grow 29% in the next seven years. Right now, an interpreter earns an hourly $21.24 in median income.

Another growth gig economy job is web developer, a task that can be completed by anyone with a fast computer and a decent internet connection. The job pays $31.23 per hour, median, and by 2024 is expected to grow 27%.

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Occupational therapist is another growth position that can be done on a contractual, freelance or part time basis, and right now it pays $38.54 an hour on average. The numbers show the role will grow 27% in the next eight years.

Why is all this important? Because the number of professionals who work in an agile fashion is growing and could constitute a large portion of the workforce someday.

In a Randstad survey of 1,500 business executives and 3,160 workers – nearly 11% of the workforce is made up of these full-time agile workers and 39% of those ‘permanent’ workers (i.e. non-agile) surveyed said they are likely to take a position in the future that falls into the agile category.

Given those stats, Randstad went on to suggest that, should those respondents follow through on their claim, temporary, freelance or contractual basis workers could make up as much as 50% of the workforce by 2019.